Planning next years garden bean questions

[Jared77]

I'm trying to plan out next years garden and we want to try growing green beans.

The question is bush or pole?

Advantages/disadvantages of each?

We've got a large garden and I had planned on using T posts at the ends of the garden with wire strung across to support our tomato plants is this a good idea since I've already got you reading my post so I could do the same with the beans if pole beans are going to be any better. And by better I mean easier to keep up on, and total harvest.

Thank you for your time

 

[lesa]

There are taste differences between the two. If I were you I would plant some of each and find out which you prefer. I like planting pole beans- because they easier to pick. DH hates them...So, I plant bush beans as well. Here in zone 4, I can easily get 2 plantings of bush beans in.
Your T-post idea sounds like a good one. If space is limited you can do a couple pole beans in flower gardens. They are really quite attractive, if you have something cute for them to climb on, all the better! I plant mine on a chain link fence- makes a nice cover and adds privacy to the backyard...

 

[Jared77]

Space is actually the least of my worries. The bed was expanded dramatically as my wife realized I do know what I'm talking about (hearing that alone was worth all the effort, not to mention a good harvest) and my green thumbs are genetic as they come from my biology teaching father!!!

The T post idea just came to me when I was laying out the grid for next season because I can't imagine trying to put individual posts in for all the tomatoes we're going to have it wouldn't be worth it.

Why does DH hate pole beans? The taste or labor?

Oh and one thing I forgot do they transplant well or go directly into the ground?

Thank you for the fast reply

 

[lesa]

Dh says the pole beans are tough. You can seed directly- they are fast growers, no need to transplant.

 

[ninnymary]

Not sure if I can help you much. We plant 2 teepees of pole beans because that is all the space we have. I also think they look pretty.
I am able to harvest enough for 6 preschoolers, a couple times a week for lunch. We love having fresh organic green beans that we can pick ourselves!

Mary

 

[bid]

Personally I prefer pole beans, especially as each season passes and another birthday passes. As lesa said, pole beans are easier to pick. Bush beans tend to produce a harvest in a shorter amount of time and more at one time. But pole beans produce a lot longer, but you do have to stay on top of them. Pick twice a week or so to keep them from getting to stringy and tough.

I think the T posts and wire for tomatoes will work out fine. Just a bit of tying up from time to time.

 

[journey11]

In years past I have always grown bush beans. This year was my first year for pole beans and I loved them! Mine were not tough at all, but I also grew an heirloom variety (most commercial bean varieties are selected to be tough for storage and transport). Besides, you can pick any bean young if you want to be sure it's tender.

For my experience, the bush beans took up too much room in my garden (which is 2,500 sq. ft.) I didn't like stooping to pick them. I would pick mine regularly (although they do mostly put out all at once.) My FIL always suggested I just wait until they put on a good crop, pull them up by they roots and be done with them (planting more rows in succession to keep the harvest going.)

I like the use of space with the pole beans and they are definitely easier to reach to pick. They bear heavily and continually. You need to pick them every few days. Depending on how much you love beans or if you intend to can any, you might not plant more than one or two tee pees. Say, maybe 25 seeds. If you like to can or freeze them for winter use, you still would be planting less pole beans than you would for the equivalent productivity of bush beans since the pole beans keep bearing heavily. Just me, but I now prefer the pole beans.

It would be wise to try them both, appreciate their differences and see what suits you best. Be sure to look into the different varieties and qualities of whichever type you choose. I believe there is more variety in the pole beans. If you've never had a "greasy" bean, you really ought to try growing some in your lifetime! Here's where I got my heirloom pole beans from: Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center, Inc. As with anything else, you'll find there are certain varieties that do better in your area. Your ag. extension agent is a good place to check on that particular info.

I think the T-posts are a great idea for the tomatoes. I usually stake mine and get worn out on tying them up after awhile. Running lines like you plan, you might want to have a line every 6 inches, then all you have to do is weave the plant up into them as it grows. Cages are good too, but I can't bring myself to spend so much money on the number of them I would need for my tomato patch!

 

[Jared77]

You guys are great thank you for the fast replies. I'm sitting here tinkering with my graph paper garden and kicking around some ideas. Just don't laugh when I post the pictures of them for your insights, suggestions and nods of approval. I wish I was kidding I'm a research freak and I've never planted on this scale or variety so I want to be as effective as I can.

Our 2011 garden is 2,200 sq. ft. So yes I've got some room to work with, that's why I've got the grid paper out and am trying to get this figured out now before the holidays hit and then its Feb and I'm scrambling.

I don't mind picking every few days because we prefer fresh beans throughout the summer. That's the big reason my wife wants them in the garden. I initially had thought to do successions of bushes but if I can free up some space with poles then I will.

One or two tee pees for 25 seeds? Did I read that right? Do they say how many to plant per tee pee? And how far apart to place my tee pees?

We do want some for freezing this winter and have fresh all summer long. Maybe I should plant a few tee pees and have fresh harvests that way, and then do some bush bean successions specifically freezing. Am I making sense with this train of thought? Or am I overthinking (which I've been known to do that's why I love this forum I can bounce ideas off you kind folks)

I don't want to even think of trying to cage all the tomatoes either. It would be a Kings ransom in cages just to do that. And I REALLY don't want to stake them because I've had to restake tomatoes a few times in the past because my stake choice was apparently a poor one and it just gets ugly quick. Id rather just put something in so I don't have to worry, and let them do their thing.

 

[lesa]

IMO you should not bother with frozen beans. Maybe there is a trick to it, but my frozen beans were so awful last year- the dog wouldn't eat them... Do you have a pressure canner? I think you will like the canned version much better.
With the pole beans, each seed sends up a runner- they don't get thick... unless you plant them close together.
Just for the record- no matter how young I pick pole beans, Dh still likes bush beans better...

 

[wifezilla]

I will be planting 2 kinds of beans next year. Dragon Tongue beans for eating fresh and chinese red noodle beans for cooking. I like the dragon tongue beans because of their texture and the bugs don't seem to bother them. The red noodle beans are just cool looking but I do have to protect them. Bugs LOVE those poor plants.